Galaxy SIII helps Samsung thrash Apple

Strong sales of Galaxy SIII means Samsung leads over Apple in second quarter

Samsung has taken a sizeable lead in the smartphone market in terms of unit shipments, thrashing Apple. In the second quarter of 2012, Samsung shipped 52.1 million smartphones, just over double the number shipped by its leading rival, Apple, with 26 million, according to juniper Research.

The Korean company has also doubled its lead over Apple quarter on quarter, with its flagship Galaxy SIII playing a key role, having achieved sales of 10 million in June. However, with consumers waiting for the next iPhone expected later in the year, Apple will undoubtedly narrow the gap the research firm claimed.

While the Galaxy S3 has been a phenomenal success, Juniper said that Samsung has used its global brand strength and the popularity of the Android OS to drive sales of smartphones in all price tiers. RIM (with 7.4 million smartphones shipped in the second quarter) continues to struggle to cope with the transition to the touchscreen era and an OS that lacks the user base to attract developers, and Nokia (10.2 million) is yet to show any clear indication it is benefitting from the switch to Windows Phone 7, with its hopes riding on Windows 8.

Meanwhile Samsung's Android competitors continue to fall short, with the resources needed to compete with Samsung's marketing push halting HTC's early promise (11.6 million) and Motorola, distracted by the Google acquisition, and lacking a strong presence in Western Europe.

Juniper believes that Sony has the strongest potential. Daniel Ashdown, research analyst at Juniper Research, notes: 'Sony should be doing better; it, like Samsung, has a global name and the Xperia brand is well established but its marketing and products have been disappointing so far.'

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